So this morning we woke up to -11 F (-24 C) temps. To say the dogs walked quickly was an understatement, I had trouble keeping up! Plus, to keep my face warm, I wear a scarf around the lower part of my face but that causes my glasses to fog up. So I end up stumbling around a bit while trying to stay warm. It was a short walk. 🙂
For New Year’s Eve our friends had a finger food potluck so I decided to make baked brie for the first time. My inspiration came from a local restaurant called Luca’s. I took the flavours of a starter they have and converted it into something different. I didn’t quite get the flavours the same but I came up with a delicious version nonetheless.
I roasted two cipollini onions in a small dish with olive oil. I covered the baking dish with tin foil and roasted at 400 F. They roasted for nearly an hour. They need to be soft when done.
In the meantime I chopped two apples and sauteed them in melted butter.
Once the onions finished I chopped them and added them to the apples. Then I used about 1/2 cup of tawny port and simmered it until it was reduced.
I preheated the oven to 400F and I used convection bake for this as you want the puff pastry to cook evenly. I rolled out the pastry and placed the brie wheel in the centre and topped with the apple compote.
The tricky bit is not to have the pastry overly thick when folding it around the cheese. Bake for about 15 minutes until the pastry is golden brown.
Let cool for a few minutes before cutting into it otherwise it will ooze out. I served this with crackers but it would be wonderful with fresh bread.
I apologize for the photo quality but the lighting wasn’t good with my phone. But it was a hit and I made it again the next day for our kids. They loved it as well.